Suburban shopping plazas had been siphoning off customers for some time.

Already gone were many of the mainstay businesses that had made downtown Venice a place to shop for everyday goods and services — Dick & Meadows Pharmacy, Taylor Hardware & Paint, Venice Tile & Floors, Bowden's IGA grocery store...

Seeing the plight that other downtowns across the nation faced as well, determined that downtown Venice would not become a retail ghost town, about 25 business men and women banded together and formed Venice MainStreet under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's MainStreet program.

Venice MainStreet realized that downtown needed a new identity. To survive, it needed to become an attraction in and of itself.

That new identity slowly emerged as downtown, which had already faded away as a place to pick up a prescription or buy a hammer, evolved into a district of unique boutiques ranging from the kitchy to the highbrow — a window shopper's dreamland.

Next month, Venice MainStreet celebrates its silver anniversary. And it certainly has cause to uncork the champagne.

Today, as visitors cross either of the bridges that bring traffic directly to downtown's main thoroughfare, Venice Avenue, they know they have reached what shopkeepers here like to call "a destination."

Parking lots are often packed but, after spaces are claimed, visitors do not have to get in their cars again. In this shopping district, signs demand that pedestrians always get the right of way. Strolling visitors jam the sidewalks, peering through windows of small, locally owned stores that sell items ranging from olive oil to pop culture memorabilia to fine stationery.

The culinary experiences are just as varied, whether customers prefer outdoor cafes, pubs, fine dining or just a slice of pizza and some gelato.

No golden arches here — or Colonel Sanders or even one of those scaled down Walmarts.

That small-town character, with a Northern Italian architectural accent, is what makes downtown Venice a unique magnet for people who want a shopping experience they cannot get anywhere else.

"I've had customers from Sun City, Lakewood Ranch, Fort Myers," said Sandy McGowan of Sandy's Designer Clothing. "They come to shop. They have lunch, spend the day and shop some more."

"It's a very pretty little town, clean and friendly," said Betty Ann Cleaver, a winter resident of Bradenton who occasionally spends the day in downtown Venice.

"It's the uniqueness of the boutiques and restaurants," said Grace Pence, an Indianapolis resident spending a month in Nokomis who has made four trips so far to downtown Venice. "I go through the shops and look at everything and come back days later to buy."

Customers like Pence are what have kept SunBug, a swimwear and sportswear store for women, in business since 1983.

Lately, they have been arriving in greater numbers and not just browsing but buying.

"Traffic is up," said David Wilson, a co-owner of SunBug. "It just keeps building."

The recession caused a downturn in sales throughout downtown, said Kathy Crisman, whose family has owned Dick's Shoes for 27 years. "But 2011 was better and 2012 was better than that. Now it's better than it has been in awhile."

Venice MainStreet, Crisman said, deserves much of the credit for that upturn. "There's no doubt it's a great asset."

The personal touch

Venice MainStreet's mission to keep downtown as a small-town shopping experience and not let it evolve into just another collection of glass towers and sterile office buildings fit right in with the original concept of Venice.

In 1925, town planner John Nolen designed a walkable, seaside town with a pleasant mix of retail, neighborhoods and parks. That design has kept Venice on a steady path as, over the decades, the city has also accommodated growth and change.

Then there is the personal touch, with a smile, that cannot come from a brochure or a website.

Tracy Ivey is among about 50 volunteers in the Downtowners, a group that operates a kiosk for Venice MainStreet and gives information to visitors about area businesses and amenities.

"We really do have the most to offer in a location that is walkable," Ivey said.

Quast estimates the occupancy rate of downtown buildings to be nearly 100 percent. Empty storefronts do not remain unleased for long, she says — not with so many potential customers walking by.

Yet Venice MainStreet knows that, while maintaining respect for its past, downtown needs to prepare for the future.

Coming alive at night

Long regarded as a city with a mostly senior population, Venice's downtown for years has essentially shut down after sunset. Now, however, it is beginning to appeal to a younger crowd.

The recent opening of the Daiquiri Deck restaurant and bar and the popularity of the Pineapples Island Grill are giving downtown a nightlife.

And older residents are joining in, Ivey said — staying downtown for drinks or late dinner after an evening performance at the Venice Theatre.

"The younger population is revitalizing the older population," Ivey said.

"People don't think of Venice as having a nightlife but there is going to be a second resurgence," Quast said. "I think you'll see the pubs staying open later. Downtown will be about more than daytime shopping."

Despite what it sees as tremendous strides, Venice MainStreet also sees unfilled potential.

The sector northeast of the Tamiami Trail and Venice Avenue needs redevelopment and Venice MainStreet wants to see a hotel there, Quast said.

It would like to give the retail areas flanking the stretch of East Venice Avenue between the Intracoastal Waterway and the U.S. 41 Bypass a makeover, so that gateway to the island is more appealing.

And though the city is considered walkable and bicycle friendly, Venice MainStreet contends that it should be even more so.

"You're never done with your job," Quast said. "There are always new challenges. We want to help usher in the next generation of shopkeepers."

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